The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-06-11
Specia1 Contributors.
THEORY OF A DOUBLE MEANING.
BY REV. W. E. MANLEY, D. d.
Denver, Colo.)

1t is probable that DR.. Adam Clarke
was the first commentator of any note,
who adopted the theory of double
meaning to the twenty-fourth and twen-
ty-fifth chapters of Matthew, and their
parallels in Mark and Luke. But if he
was the first, unfortunately he was not
the last absurd and irrational as the
theory may seem to those who have no
occasion to use it. There is, perhaps,
no book devoted to Biblical exposition,
that has appeared in the present CEN
tury, which is more generally approved
by all classes of people, than Smiths
Dictionary of the Bible" The fol-
lowing quotation will show that this
strange hypothesis has an advocate
among the writers of this excellent
and learned work
"On leaving the temple, his disciples
drew attention to the beauty of it's struc-
ture, it's goodly stones and gifts; this re-
mark probably arising from the threats
of destruction, which had been so lately
uttered by Jesus. Their Master answered,
that not one stone of the noble pile
should be left upon another. When they
reached the mount OF Olives, the disciples,
or rather the first four. MARK speaking
for the rest asked him when this destruc-
ton should be accomplished. To under
stand the answer, it must be borne in
mind, that Jesus warned them that he
was not giving them an historical account,
such as would enable them to anticipate
the event. OF that day and hour know
eth no man; no, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only
Exact data of time are to be purposely
withheld from them. Accordingly two
events, analogous in character, but wide.
ly sundered in time, are SO treated in the
prophecy, that it is almost impossible to
disentangle them. The destruction OF
Jerusalem and the day Of Judgment
the national and universal days of ac-
count are spoken of together, or altern-
ately, with no hint of the great interval
or Time tnat separates bnem.
1t looks as if there was little disin-
genuousness about this, aside from the
peculiar theory adopted by the author.
BY introducing the words of Jesus con-
cerning the day and the hour of his
coming, which were spoken near the
close of his discourse, as if they were
uttered at the beginning, and making
them relate to the general period of his
coming, instead of the particular day
and hour, it is assumed that no time is
given, but is purposely withheld from
them. That the time of his coming is
embraced in the question of the apos-
ties, namely, the end of the age, as
we'll as in the answer of Jesus, ''This
generation shall not pass away" etc., is
ignored, as If no such language had
been used.
Another circumstance looks little
suspicious. OF those who knew not
the day nor the hour, our author omits
the Son, and mentions only the angels
of heaven and the Father. This was
preparatory to what he was about to
say, namely, that Jesus purposely with
held the time, that is, the day and the
hour, from the apostles; which implies
that he knew these, but did not intend
that they should; when in truth, he
did not reveal the day or hour, because
he could not. But that his coming,
and other contemporaneous events
would be in that generation, he knew,
and plainly declared to them. And in
another place, he declares, with equal
plainness, that some of them would
live to see those things. Matt. xvi. 2s
That Jesus purpOsely kept from his
disciples the time of the events inquired
about, is therefore a gross perversion of
the passage.
This theory of twofold meaning is
very singular one, to say the least.
suppose the word dion rendered aC0rld,
in the text of the revised version, and
age in the margin, was to be understood
both ways-as age, in reference to Jeru-
salem, and world, in reference to the
final judgment So the coming of
Christ was to be, first, at the end of the
age; and second, at the end of the
world Again, the darkening of the
sun and moon, and falling of the stars,
is figurative in the one case, and literal
in the otherl SO in the one case all
the tribes of the land would mourn; in
the other all the tribes of the earth;